Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
Title/Author: The Raft by Jim LaMarche
Suggested Time to Spend: 5 Days
(Recommendation: two sessions per day, at least 20 minutes per day)
Common Core grade-level ELA/Literacy Standards: RL.1.1, RL.1.2, RL.1.3, RL.1.7; W.1.2, W.1.8;
SL.1.1, SL.1.2, SL.1.4, SL.1.5, SL.1.6; L.2.1, L.2.2
Lesson Objective:
Students will identify the topic, details, and retell important facts through words and/or illustrations, of a story read aloud.
Students will observe changes in the main character over the course of the story.
Teacher Instructions
Before the Lesson
1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis below. Please do not read this to the students. This is a
description to help you prepare to teach the book and be clear about what you want your children to take away from the work.
Big Ideas/Key Understandings/Focusing Question
Nick’s experiences on the river lead to a connection to his grandmother and nature and bring him a sense of peace and
belonging. The power of drawing his new surroundings draws him closer to the river and wild life.
Why does Nicky choose to draw a fawn on the raft, instead of any other animal he has encountered?
Synopsis
Nicky’s experience on the river
Nicky reluctantly spends the summer in the Wisconsin woods with his grandmother who is an artist. He is not thrilled with all
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
of the chores and country living but then the raft appears and changes everything. The raft works
a subtle magic, as he explores opening up the wonders all around him - the animals of the river and the woods, his
Grandmother’s humor and wisdom, and his own talent as an artist. He appreciates things and people in a whole new light.
2. Go to the last page of the lesson and review “What Makes this Read-Aloud Complex.” This was created for you as part of the
lesson and will give you guidance about what the lesson writers saw as the sources of complexity or key access points for this
book. You will of course evaluate text complexity with your own students in mind, and make adjustments to the lesson pacing
and even the suggested activities and questions.
3. Read the entire book, adding your own insights to the understandings identified. Also note the stopping points for the textinspired questions and activities. Hint: you may want to copy the questions vocabulary words and activities over onto sticky notes
so they can be stuck to the right pages for each day’s questions and vocabulary work.
The Lesson – Questions, Activities, and Tasks
Questions/Activities/Vocabulary/Tasks
FIRST READING:
Read aloud the entire book with minimal interruptions. Stop to
provide word meanings or clarify only when you know the
majority of your students will be confused.
SECOND READING:
Use chart paper to list new or challenging vocabulary.
Reread the following pages and pose the questions.
Reread page 1
How does Nicky feel about going to his grandmother’s house
for the summer? How do you know?
Expected Outcome or Response (for each)
The goal here is for students to enjoy the book, both writing
and pictures, and to experience it as a whole. This will give
them some context and sense of completion before they dive
into examining the parts of the book more carefully.
Nicky “complains,” there is no television, and no one to play
with. “I felt tears starting again…”
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Reread pages 3 & 4
How did the illustrations on pages 3 and 4 help you to
understand how Nicky feels?
Recommended for Grade 1
Nicky – His eyes have tears, his face is long and serious, and he
is hiding behind a tree. His appearance is that of a child not
knowing what to expect.
Activity:
Students create a five-part foldable.
Students will fold a sheet of 9 x 12 manila paper vertically and
cut the top fold into 5 sections creating 5 flaps. (see picture)
At designated stopping points, students draw a picture on the
outside flap to illustrate Nicky’s feelings and write describing
words on the inside. Ensure to include the pictures from page
one when students are creating their first entry.
On page 1 the dad says “she is not a normal kind of grandma?”
What clues from pages 5 and 6 does the author give you to
support that she is not a normal grandma? (chart responses)
Reread page 7
Why didn’t Nicky catch any fish? Use evidence from the text to
support your answer.
- How did he feel about fishing? How do you know?
* Stop and add next illustration and description to the foldable.
- books are scattered everywhere
- sketches and stuffed fish
- charts of the river
- fishing poles are hanging on the wall
- a tackle box
- a snorkel and mask
Nicky didn’t catch any fish because he did not fish where his
Grandma told him.
He didn’t like it, he said there are “no fish in the stupid river”
and he was frustrated.
Challenging vocabulary: bobber, bait the hook, clutter, drop the
line
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
Reread page 10
What caused Nicky to notice the raft?
He heard “loud chirping and chattering” and saw a flock of
birds moving towards him. Then the raft “bumped up against
the dock.”
What does the author compare to “finding presents under the
Christmas tree”?
When he found the raft and moved all the leaves, he found that
the raft had carvings and drawing of different animals, a bear, a
fox, and a raccoon.
Why does Nicky’s Grandma encourage him to give fishing
another try?
Grandma wanted Nicky to be on the dock so he would find the
raft. (Have students give evidence from the story to support
their answer.)
Challenging vocabulary: hover, ancient cave paintings
THIRD READING:
Explain that today you will continue to explore The Raft.
Read up to page 10 without stopping.
Continue adding words to the vocabulary chart.
Reread page 11
Why does Nicky ask his grandma for rope?
The author says that the animals are acting like they are friends
with the raft. Use words from the text to explain why the
author used the word “friend.”
Reread page 14
What leads Nicky to ask his Grandma “how did you know”
about the raft?
To tie the raft to the dock.
- birds “swooped down to the raft”
- “a crane waded through the reeds to the raft”
- “a turtle swam up from the bottom of the river”
Normally animals do not approach people unless they know
that they are going to be safe, like a friend.
Grandma is not surprised to see Nicky playing on the raft and
she shows up with a life jacket and a long pole, which are things
you need for rafting.
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
What do you notice about Nicky’s expression on these pages?
Now look at his expression on page 2, how do they compare?
What do you notice?
Recommended for Grade 1
Challenging vocabulary: hitch hike
On page 14, his face is peaceful and calm and he’s looking at all
the animals around him.
On page 2 he looks really sad, his nose is red, it appears that he
may have been crying. All he sees are buildings that he is
leaving.
*Stop and add next illustration and description to the foldable:
Nicky on the raft.
Reread page 15
How has Nicky’s attitude about being at Grandma’s changed?
Nicky rushes through his chores to race to the dock to see what
animals will be there.
Reread page 17
Stop and chart vocabulary.
Challenging vocabulary: buck, snorkel
Reread page 19
Why does Nicky say, “I felt invisible”?
Nicky feels invisible because the heron lands on the raft, eats a
crayfish, preens its feathers and then it flies away. The heron
never pays attention to Nicky. (He felt like the heron didn’t
even see him. It is very unusual for animals to come close to
humans.)
(Probe students’ understanding of the word as it is used in the
sentence.)
*Stop and add next illustration and description to the foldable.
Challenging vocabulary: heron, preened
Teacher Note: Before the fourth reading create word sort cards
for each small group of students. Use the words from the
student-created vocabulary list. Also, have prepared blank
word sort cards for students to write additional words selected
during the fourth reading.
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
FOURTH READ:
Continue adding words to the vocabulary chart.
Reread page 21
Why did Nicky say, “Grandma was right about the snorkel”?
Reread page 22
Stop and chart vocabulary.
Reread pages 23 and 24
Look back at your observations from pages 2 and 14, how do
they compare with the illustrations on these pages? What do
you notice about Nicky?
Because when Nicky used them on and hung his head over the
raft, he could see all sorts of things under the water such as the
otters playing, chasing fish, chasing each other, and sometimes
chasing their own tails. They played keep away with a stone
and tug-of-war with a piece of rope.
Challenging vocabulary: otter, poled
Teacher note: Nicky appears to have embraced his life on the
river and his grandma. Animals are everywhere and do not
seem to be afraid of “the people.”
Challenging vocabulary: cannon ball
*Stop and add next illustration and description to the foldable:
Nicky jumping off the raft to swim.
Reread page 25
Stop and chart vocabulary.
Reread page 28
What is Nicky’s reaction when he sees the fawn in trouble?
Challenging vocabulary: fawn, doe
Would he have responded the same way at the beginning of
the summer?
No. At the beginning of the summer, Nicky did not want to stay
in the woods with the animals. He was from the city. He
probably would have run from the fawn.
Nicky drops into the water, he whispers to the fawn that he will
not hurt him and he prays that the raft will calm it. Nicky pulls
the fawn out of the mud and takes him to its mother.
Challenging vocabulary: bank
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Reread page 31
Why does Grandma say, “now you will always be part of the
river”?
Why does Nicky’s refer to himself as a “river rat”?
Activity:
Working in small groups, students will engage in an open word
sort followed by whole group discussion to explain their
thinking.
(A word sort is a word study activity where children compare,
Contrast, and sort words according to specific features.
Students organize sets of words into categories based on what
they notice about the words.)
Teacher Note: Before the fourth reading create word sort cards
for each small group of students. Use the words from the
student created vocabulary list. Also, have prepared blank word
sort cards for students to write additional words selected
during the fourth reading. The words included can be feelings
and/or actions.
FIFTH READING:
Reread the story without interruptions.
Recommended for Grade 1
Because Nicky has added his picture of his experience
permanently to the raft.
Nicky now shares a connection to his Grandmother and her
love for the river.
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
FINAL DAY WITH THE BOOK - Culminating Task

Students draw a picture of the animal Nicky drew directly on to the raft (i.e. a fawn)

Students will respond in writing to this question: Why does Nicky choose to draw a fawn on the raft, instead of any other animal
he has encountered?
o Possible Answers: That’s the animal that he got out of the mud. He drew the animal that he helped. The fawn was stuck.
o Tip: The writing response may pose a challenge for 1st grade students. Allow for inventive spelling and dictate for
students who need assistance.
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
Vocabulary
These words merit less time and attention
These words merit more time and attention
(They are concrete and easy to explain, or describe events/
processes/ideas/concepts/experiences that are familiar to your students )
(They are abstract, have multiple meanings, and/or are a part
of a large family of words with related meanings. These words are likely
to describe events, ideas, processes or experiences that most of your
student will be unfamiliar with)
Page 7 - bobber – a small float placed on a fishing line to hold the
hook at the desired depth
Page 7- clutter- a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass
Page 10 - hover- to remain in one place in the air
Page 7 – bait the hook- to place an insect or worm on a hook for
fishing
Page 17-buck- the male of the deer, antelope, rabbit, hare, sheep,
or goat
Page 7 - drop the line – to toss the fishing line into the water
Page 10 - ancient cave paintings – very old paintings found in caves
either carved or painted
Page 17 - snorkel – a short curved tube for a swimmer to breathe
through while keeping the face under water
Page 14 - hitchhike – catch a ride with somebody
Page 22- poled – propel (a boat) by pushing a pole against the
bottom of a river, canal, or lake
Page 19-heron- a long-legged, long-necked, usually long-billed bird
Page 25 - fawn – a young deer
Page 19 - preened – a bird straightening and cleaning its feathers
with its beak
Page 25 - doe – the female of the deer, antelope, goat, rabbit, and
certain other animals
Page 22 – otter- a semiaquatic fish-eating mammal with an
elongated body, dense fur, and webbed feet
Page 28 - bank- the slopes bordering a river
Page 23 – cannon ball – a jump into water performed upright with
the knees clasped to the chest
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
Fun Extension Activities for this Book and other Useful Resources

Tape big brown pieces of butcher paper together to create a “raft.” Student draw and label pictures of Nicky’s experiences on
the river.
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
What Makes This Read-Aloud Complex?
1. Quantitative Measure
Go to http://www.lexile.com/ and enter the title of your read-aloud in the Quick Book Search in the upper right of home page. Most texts
will have a Lexile measure in this database.
540L
Most of the texts that we read aloud in K-2 should
be in the 2-3 or 4-5 band, more complex than the
students can read themselves.
2-3 band
420-820L
4-5 band
740-1010L
2. Qualitative Features
Consider the four dimensions of text complexity below. For each dimension *, note specific examples from the text that make it more or less
complex.




Nick’s experiences lead to a connection to his
grandmother and nature brings him a sense of peace.
“Now you will always be part of the river.” (page 31)
“But as with the other animals, the raft seemed to
calm them down.” (page 22)
“I knew it was just right.” (page 30)
Meaning/Purpose
Language



Chronological
Realistic Fiction
Illustrations subtly support deeper understanding:
-the animals are surrounding the grandmother at
the beginning of the story and they are
surrounding the boy at the end.
Structure
Life
on the river:
nature, fishing
Knowledge
Demands
Poetic language
Tier 3 words related to river life.
“The air was cool and a low pearly fog hung over the river.
(Pages 17-18)
*For more information on the qualitative dimensions of text complexity, visit http://www.achievethecore.org/content/upload/Companion_to_Qualitative_Scale_Features_Explained.pdf
Dallas Independent School District
The Raft
Recommended for Grade 1
3. Reader and Task Considerations
What will challenge my students most in this text? What supports can I provide?
Understanding that Nicky learns more than just how to live on the river.
How will this text help my students build knowledge about the world?
Understanding that experiences help you find your place in the world.
4. What grade level does this book belong in? 1st grade
*For more information on the qualitative dimensions of text complexity, visit http://www.achievethecore.org/content/upload/Companion_to_Qualitative_Scale_Features_Explained.pdf